Carpe Diems (and the diems and the diems)

Seize the DAYS.  And the days and the days and the days because boy have there been a LOT of them since I've last posted.  I cannot beeeeeee-lieve the last thing I wrote about was the first day of school.  Can.NOT. believe.  So this post is going to be an attempted quick catch up of everything that has happened since September.  I shall then review said quick catch up and go back and elaborate on anything  that needs elaborating on.  Without further delay ....

TEETH!  We lost teeth!  Well, tooth.  Since Kindergarten Jack has been surrounded by classmates who drop teeth like they're hot (drop teeth like they're hoooot .. drop teeth like they're hoooot - you know I had to work some song lyrics into this post somewhere).  But Jack?  Not so much.  After two long years of wondering if his time would ever come, it finally came right after the start of school.  Here is my toothless wonder writing a letter to the tooth fairy.

My not so toothless wonder insisted on writing a letter as well.

The finished product.  With a map - because Jack is thoughtful like that.

A close up of the tooth box we made.

On the sides we record which tooth was lost when.  Inventive, no?

The official tooth fairy table!  This is how we left it when Jack went to sleep.

And this is how the tooth fairy found it when she went in to make her exchange.  JGif likes to decorate just like his mama does.

And for perspective -  because I still cannot believe how teeny tiny his itty bitty baby teeth are.

The loot.  That's five one dollar bills wrapped up in a ribbon.  And YES it's actually shimmering with special tooth fairy shimmer powder.  And it was accompanied by a new little lego mini figure guy.  Hey, you only lose your first tooth once!

Jack played soccer again which he VERY much enjoyed.  He played harder, ran faster, got better and emerged stronger.  It was like the Kanye West of soccer seasons for him.  (More song lyrics.  I.am.on.FIRE!))

He definitely got way more aggressive.

He caught some air.

He got more handsome by the second (Beckham who?)

I have no idea what is going on here.  Just love the looks on all the faces.

And most importantly he made some friends and had some fun!

Both kids loved Halloween.

Like jump for joy loved it.

This one makes me laugh so hard I don't even know what to do with myself.

Jack had a blast with his friends.  And yes, that is a blinged out Pickachu.  That is how the Pokemon roll in our hood!

Kate was out of control insanely cute the entire night.  This was the first time she was able to run from house to house by herself as opposed to me/Mike pushing her the entire way in her stroller.  Each time she'd ring the bell with all the confidence in the world and shout "Twick or Tweet!".  Then whomever answered the door would die over her cuteness, revive themselves, and give her candy.  And every.single.time she was just completely taken aback by what had just gone down.  The second they put the candy in her bag ....

Kate:  MAMA.   They gave me CANDY!  I cannot believe it.  I CANNOT believe it.  I so excited!

Shining her flashlight on a lolipop to make sure it wasn't just an illusion.

Next house - same exact reaction.  Next house - same thing.  And the next.  And the next.  For like 35 - 40 houses.   And on house 40 she was just as taken aback by the fact that they gave her candy as she was the first time it happened.  She was like Taylor Swift winning everything at the Country Music Awards but way more genuine.  My face ached from smiling so much when we got home.  Then Kate grabbed my phone and immediately took to the couch for some relaxing because all that being taken aback makes a baby tired.

She did get a brief second wind in which she helped her ninja brother sort some candy.

And then almost two months later their mom finally posted pictures about it and then realized it was 11:00 at night and she needed to go to sleep before she fell asleep at the computer.

More to come .... but seriously worth the wait so far, no?

First day of SECOND grade!

The first day of school for us was waaaay back on August 20th.  As usual I am waaaay late with the blog update.  My little guy is totally a professional second grader at this point.  Totally.

Per Gifford tradition we kicked off the first day of school with breakfast in bed!  Mini pancakes that I woke up extra early to microwave personally. June Cleaver ain't got nothin' on me.

Kate was entirely too busy to eat.  The girl loves playing in Jack's room.  It's like her own personal Disney World.

They were both so excited for bus stop time.

First day of school porch picture.

LOOK at how excited he was to learn!

Actually it was more like ...

Me:  Come on, Jack - smile!   Give me a good back to school face.
Jack:  This IS my good back to school face.
Me:  Well then give me a "I just won all the Legos in the world" face.
Click!  Perfect.

Reuniting with bus stop friends.

All the kiddos in their first day of school finest.  

There he goes...

This was supposed to be a shot of Kate waving goodbye to the bus - but she stuck her fingers back in her mouth right as I was snapping the picture.  She loves those fingers.  And as a bonus you get a shot of her handsome daddy's handsome chin.  Lucky you!

                           

See ya, second grader!

Tanks for the memories!

Today is the last day of Summer.  For us at least.  At 8:10 a.m. tomorrow morning Jack G will be boarding the school bus for his first day of SECOND GRADE.  Where in the world does the time go? And why in the world do we start school so early around here?!

We sent off Summer with a bang - literally - by attending the annual open house of the Tank Farm aka the Americans in Wartime Museum.  The event takes place in August each year and features the 3rd largest private collection of military vehicles in the world.  There were 50+ tanks, military jeeps and other various armored vehicles, WWII re-enactments featuring a flame thrower, vehicle demonstrations and also snacks.  SNACKS!  Could this day get any better?  Jack and Mike were in Heaven.

These guys passed us in the parking lot.  Kate smiled and waved, obviously not phased at all by the big 'ol gun they were toting.

The vehicles on display were quite impressive.  Here is a sampling ...

And one in action!   Also, I'm no war expert but wouldn't the soldiers be safer riding inside of the tank?

Jack was all "Take a picture of me and this big tank!"

Then Kate was all "I wanna picture TOO!"

And then of course Jack insisted I take one of the both of them.  

My boy could totally be a soldier in the army of handsomeness!

Jack enjoyed looking at lots of guns.

And pretending to shoot lots of guns.

And holding some enormous bullet like projectile things (I should totally get a job as a war historian).

Meanwhile Kate enjoyed meeting a horse!

She even got to pet him!  Why is Rodney Dangerfield looking at her all crazy like?  Because seriously doesn't that soldier look just like Rodney Dangerfield?

And then she got all shy and that made Rodney smile!

 Reenactment time!

These guys thought they were being all sneaky.  Totally spotted 'em.

And did I mention - FLAME THROWER?!  Coolest part of the day.

We signed up to support the museum by becoming members and were therefore entered into a drawing for a vehicle ride.  AND WE WON!  Incidentally pretty much everyone who signed up to be a member won a ride that day but still, exciting! Mike and Jack took the ride while Kate and I watched.

Jack was on the ride too but he's just a little too short to be able to see out of the top.  And also since the ride was on the same ground the reenactment just took place on he was a little scared that if he peeked out there would be people shooting at him.  I love that boy so much.

While the boys took their ride Kate looked like this.

And also, like this.

Those eyelashes!!!  Why can't I have those eyelashes!?

Best. Day. EVER!

The end.

PS:  "Tanks for the memories!"  I'm still laughing at that.